


you will always have me so i hope you're cool with that

by grootmorning



Series: the best thing about high school was you [1]
Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Clarice is still taking matters into her own hands, F/M, Fluff, John is still an idiot, They're just really dumb and cute, Valentine's Day, just some short nonsense to channel all my thunderblink feelings somewhere this holiday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 17:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13686183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grootmorning/pseuds/grootmorning
Summary: They've been friends for ages but John hasn't wanted to be just friends for awhile now.





	you will always have me so i hope you're cool with that

John adjusted his position, shifting to lean against the lockers in a more comfortable position that wouldn't hurt his shoulders. The bag strap was slipping off him so he grabbed it and held on, squeezing the strap in his hand nervously.

His boots scuffed against the floor. All the nervous energy in his body had to go somewhere.

It was Valentine's Day. Like  _the_ Valentine's Day. For lovers, and all people who were together in  _that sense_. He'd wanted to be with somebody like that for awhile now. And not just anybody. No. John Proudstar knew exactly who that person should be.

"Is this the year?" Marcos popped his head out over John's shoulder. 

"Shit!" John jerked, smacking his hand against the metal lockers, jumping at the sound of his best friend's voice. "Give me some warning, will ya?"

"Sorry," Marcos grinned, patting John's head condescendingly. "Not my fault you were too engrossed in your thoughts to hear me coming up behind you. You always know when someone's coming up behind you, except now, of course."

John huffed out a breath.

"So is this the year?"

"What do you mean?" John's eyes were still scanning the crowded hallway.

"Is this the year you finally tell our dear friend Clarice that you've been in love with her for a year?"

"Marcos, jeez! Keep your voice down! Why don't you take out a billboard ad while you're at it?" John clamped a hand over his mouth, rearing back when Marcos licked it instead.

He swiped it disgustedly down Marcos' shirt, scowling as he resumed his former position.

"Anyway, Lorna and I will be headed to X's after school for ice cream. Give me a call if you need to talk? Or if you need moral support after Clarice - "

Marcos' voice faded into the background as the familiar shade of purple caught John's eye in the middle of the crowded hallway. He barely registered Marcos' snickering as he clapped him on the back with a final "Good luck, bro." 

John watched as Clarice navigated the crowd of people, stopping in front of him to get at her locker. "Hey, John."

"Hey," John struggled to keep his voice even, clearing his throat.

She looked at him, with a sceptical expression, "Something wrong?"

"Nothing. How was class?" John tugged at his bag strap again, looking down at her from where he was again leaning against the lockers awkwardly. Get it together, Proudstar. 

"Boring. Sage corrected the teacher again in Algebra though. That was funny. I don't know why they don't just put her in Advanced Calculus or something," Clarice grabbed her books from her bag, tossing them in. She checked her reflection in the mirror she'd hung inside before shutting it and looking up properly at him. "Where's Marcos and Lorna?"

John shrugged.

His mind was racing at a thousand miles per second. His prepared spiel about how he'd liked Clarice more than a normal guy should like a platonic friend for more than a year now, how she was the best friend that he wanted to be with, all gone. Forgotten, now that he was looking down at her.

She blinked up at him. Her contacts were green today.

"Your contacts are nice today," he muttered.

Clarice laughed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. John wanted to be the one to do that. "Thanks, I decided to go a little wild today, away from the usual colours."

"It's pretty."

Startled, she gaped at him a little. "What did you say?"

It was now or never. Pushing his hair back, John stood upright, facing her. His hand clenched by his side.

"Clarice, I - We've been friends since grade school. It's been years now, and next year, everybody will be going off to college. I don't know where I'll end up, I don't know where you'll end up. But I know that you and me, we'll always be tight. And the four of us will always be friends."

This was harder than he thought it was going to be. The look of confusion on her face only grew the more he spoke.

"But you and me, we've always been good friends, y'know? Like really good friends. I just wanted to say that I'll always be there for you, and you'll always have me, even if I'm a thousand miles away, you know I'll always find you, right?"

She measured out a hesitant "Yes" really slowly. John barrelled on.

"Right, and so I just wanted to say that I think the world of you, and recently, it's like, it's so complicated, and I just want to hang out with you all the time, just you. And - and you'll always have me by your side, so I hope you're cool with that," he finished lamely, internally smacking himself as the speech he'd so painstakingly prepared fell apart.

Clarice studied him, biting at her lip.

Moments passed. "Say something?" John begged.

"You big dumb ridiculous boy."

Yeah, that wasn't what John expected.

Before he knew it, Clarice had pressed up on her toes, grabbing his leather jacket by the lapels and yanking him towards her so she could kiss him, hard. She dropped back onto her heels, grinning up at him. Her hands were still on his jacket and John belatedly reached up to cover them with his own.

He definitely did not expect that.

"Wh - what?"

"I've been waiting for you to say something for ages, and somewhere in that convoluted speech, you still haven't told me that you like me."

John's brain was still reeling from the fact that Clarice Fong had kissed him and was still playing catch up. "I - didn't?"

"No you didn't!"

"Oh. Um, I like you, Clarice."

"Well, that's good. Because I like you too."

"Okay," John grinned, and it must have been goofy because Clarice laughed, uncurling her hands and stepping closer to hug him. It wasn't the first time or even second time they'd hugged, but John wrapped his arms around her, letting his face drop towards her shoulder and press into her neck. All the nervous energy drained out of him, and the warmth of her body in his arms spread into his own, filling him with joy.

"By the way, Marcos and Lorna told me."

"What?"

"And it's Valentine's Day, do you take me for a moron?"

"What?"

"If you didn't say something today, I would have."

"What?"

"I like you too doofus. We've liked each other for awhile now, and our friends were egging us on."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Later, after you kiss me. I kissed you that first time."

"Okay."

John could do that.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm super swamped with work but i couldn't let vday go by without thunderblink having something in the tags so i just whipped something up really quickly. hope you guys like it :)
> 
> title taken from this card [here](https://www.whudat.de/images/emilymcdowell_gift-cards_05.jpg)
> 
> tumblr: [here](http://ltfrankcastle.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [here](http://twitter.com/ltfrankcastie)


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